Romantso, former printing plant of the once famous “Romantso” magazine, is situated in the historical center of Athens
and functions both as hub for start-up companies within the creative
industry and as a cultural center, organizing and hosting a variety of events accessible to the wider public, on a daily basis.

THE CREATIVE HUB

Romantso’s creative hub offers office spaces for
rent together with a variety of services aimed at start-up companies and young entrepreneurs within the
creative industry. The building has gradually grown into a vibrant
melting pot for young creatives that provides both private and shared working
spaces, as well as many other facilities.

THE CULTURAL CENTER

Romantso’s cultural center organizes and hosts
music performances, art exhibitions, seminars, workshops,
presentations and lectures accessible to a wide range of audiences. Its purpose is to
reactivate an abandoned part of the historical center of the city, which used to house the creative core of urban life several years ago.

HISTORY & THE BUILDING

For more than 60 years, “Romantso” magazine was based
in Anaxagora’s street printing building, alongside other popular magazines from the 50s
until the 80s, such as “Pantheon” and “Vendeta”.

“Romantso” magazine plays an
important role in the Greek-post-war magazine history. It was initially
launched on the 17th of November 1934, with novel-length
stories in each issue, based on the American pulp magazines’
structure. This is where the term “romantso” derived from, it translates to “novel”.

“Romantso’s”
glory days took place in 1956, when its price dropped from six drachmas to
three, selling more than 300,000 issues per week, unapproachable figures for a weekly
Greek magazine nowadays. “Romantso” reached Greek people all over the
world and carried along all the characteristics and lifestyle of the first
post-war, middle class generation. Though when it was later converted from a
popular, mass magazine to a lifestyle one, its sales dropped dramatically
leading to the magazine's shut-down.

Romantso’s building has been restored in
collaboration with “someOFnine” architectural office, with the aim of removing all the unnecessary elements added during its innumerable years of operation and to
come nearer the building’s original architectural form. The marble staircase was
restored, the open-air back part of the building is being transformed into an
urban garden and the skylights that run the entire building are now its bright
trade mark.

Some of nine is a group of young architects active in the fields of landscape design, interior and graphic design, and architecture. With offices in
Athens, Greece and Mondovi, Italy the group aspires to multidisciplinary collaborations
and to the formation of an active network of young creative professionals.

With a realistic approach to everyday urban life, rather than an embellished vision of it, Romantso’s ambition is to develop and support a breathing
platform in Athens’ historical center, consisting of young creatives ready to make their first steps towards a bright professional future.

Romantso’s members work day after day in a creative
environment that fosters professional networking and cooperation, without turning this into a forced
condition.

The creative hub offers private offices and co-working spaces for rent, providing all
the necessary facilities that a young individual or company needs from the start of its
operations.

On top of this, Romantso’s creative hub provides secretarial and
communication services, and at the same time members have access to the
exhibition space, the photographic studio and the meeting room of the building,
covering an important part of the functional and promotional needs of a young
company.

CULTURAL CENTER AND PROGRAMMING

Romantso’s hub members and the cultural center’s
programming are both equally important in shaping the building’s character and its everyday
life. Young artists are hosted on a frequent basis, inviting their circles and
the wider public to experience vivid art events of all kinds. The café, the exhibition
space and the concert stage are accessible to everyone for the presentation and development of new ideas, new projects and new media.

The cultural center functions on a daily basis
presenting a variety of activities for and from the city’s people and the
incubator’s members, offering a wide range of events related to urban life,
music, performances, visual arts, food, discussions, presentations and
exhibitions.

Visitors and members of Romantso’s creative hub can participate
in the cultural center’s activities or just relax and socialize with friends
and colleagues at the café. A vibrant venue of artistic creation welcoming
and involving the wider public in an open dialogue, aiming to influence the
Athenian arts scene.

OUR MEMBERS

The start-up companies based in Romantso’s
premises operate within the wider creative industry sector, including areas
such as architecture, graphic design, fashion, design, photography, publishing,
visual arts, new media and technologies, amongst others.

What started off as the idea of two friends in a bedroom, in front of a computer screen, is today an organization that continuously
explores and promotes urban culture.

BIOS cultural organization was founded in 2001 as the
first audiovisual festival that focused on electronic music and delivered it to the Greek
audience: BIOS01. Two festival editions later and being in need of a permanent basis
for its programming, BIOS Tesla settled in Peiraios 84 building, creating a brand new
form of venue for Athenian standards which presented events that introduced
urban culture to the wider public.

Aiming to promote contemporary art and its engagement with new media and technology, but also trying to highlight the interconnectedness between artistic fields, BIOS has presented and curated an impressive amount of events throughout the past 13 years...

Nowadays, BIOS Tesla’s building is seen as a meeting point within the city and is
characterized by the public and important institutions as "An innovative
venue in Athens that has continuously been shaping the city’s
artistic life during the past decade."

Romantso is not just another BIOS Tesla. However, its cultural offering is
structured with the same standards that made BIOS a synonym of artistic expression.